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The Plant Stand Comes to Midtown

The corner of 10th and Hudson has become a tented mecca of greenery for all forms of foliage and flower hoarders in Midtown, thanks to a husband-wife duo. The Plant Stand, a locally owned retail garden center, made its debut in the neighborhood last weekend, and will be a regular fixture on the busy corner until June.

After taking a year off from their seasonal shop, which was located just north of May and Britton, Kaleigh and Jared Bishop were approached by Industry Flea to partake in the bustling lot of vendors that now serves as anchor to the expanded H&8th food truck festival. They jumped at the opportunity, and decided to set up tent and get back into the plant business. Their assortment of produce plants, sun and shade varieties, flowers and of course, succulents, will be available in conjunction with Industry Flea each month, in addition to Monday-Sunday through June. On their soft opening day last Saturday, we headed down the street to see their spread and ended up toting back as many succulents as our hands could carry.

Kaleigh, who like us, would cover her apartment with plants to the degree of earning the moniker, “Crazy Plant Lady,” if it weren’t for space confinements, shared The Plant Stand’s story with us this week:

What is The Plant Stand, and how did you guys come to be?

It’s actually a crazy story, my dad originally bought the Stand from an existing company, ran it for about six years, and then sold the company to Jared and two of his good friends. The boys ran the Stand for three years before the location they rented was bought out to become a grocery store. At the time Jared’s two business partners were moving in different directions, one to become a teacher and the other was looking to start a family, while Jared and I were in the process of getting married. It just made sense to take a year off from the Stand and let life settle down before looking for a new location.

Jump forward to this Spring when Industry Flea contacted Jared to see if he would be interested in opening the Stand in Midtown. We absolutely adore the area so of course we jumped right on it! That was in March and it’s been a crazy whirlwind ever since!

Currently The Plant Stand is ran daily by my husband, Jared. I work more behind the scenes as graphic designer, social media manager, and marketing director. It’s been such an interesting experience to see our different strengths and interests fall into place through this process! Jared is an amazing entrepreneur and he constantly inspires me. I have really enjoyed getting to work together on a project that is so close to our hearts!

How long will The Plant Stand be available in Midtown? Where can we find you after your run in the neighborhood?

We’re planning on staying in Midtown for the foreseeable future! We’ll be at the Stand until June and then we’re looking into the possibility of sticking around and selling fresh produce like watermelon, squash, zucchini, and cantaloupe, over the summer. Then we’ll be back again in the fall with pumpkins and mums. You can always follow us on social media to see what’s happening next!

What made you choose Midtown?

Well we love this area, we go to church down here and we are looking to move here as well. There’s just a palpable friendliness and sense of home in Midtown! So when Industry Flea contacted us we just knew immediately that it was the right move for the Stand and for us as well.

What type of offerings do you have available at The Plant Stand right now?

We carry tons of plants and flowers for landscaping and gardening! Lots of sun and shade plants like begonias, ivy, hostas, and potato vine. We also carry a huge selection of succulents, and we’re getting an order of cactus in very soon! Then we have produce plants like tomatoes, cucumber, watermelon, and strawberries, as well as herb plants like arugula, basil, and parsley. We just started carrying tea leaves this year, which is a really cool new addition. We have peppermint and mint julep leaves, as well as lemon verbena so you can make your own tea. We’re also hoping to get some pineapple plants in, which are really cool!

As corny as it may be, do you have any plants you are especially partial to? What do you have growing in your home or garden?

Well I adore succulents, they’re just darling. I also really love the Boston Ferns, they’re gorgeous! I’ve started my own herb garden inside so we’ll see how that goes. I’m actually not the gardener or the cook in our family, Jared is! So I’ll definitely be asking his advice. We got married last June and we used potato vine, dusty miller, and succulents in our wedding decorations so those will always be special to me!

Any plant anecdotes? Any initial blunders in your foray into the plant world?

So, we’re serious when we say don’t over water the succulents. I totally drowned my first batch that I brought home, I mean they were nasty. Poor things. Also read the tags that come on most of our plants! They will tell you how much water or sun the plant needs. They were a big help when I was first learning my way around the Stand!

Greenthumbs rejoice, and not-so-greenthumbs…you can go ahead and rejoice, too. Just don’t overwater those succulents. And if you can’t make it out to Industry Flea this weekend, The Plant Stand just happens to be open Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, 12-6 p.m. Show them your Keep It Local Card, and they’ll even throw in a branded reusable produce bag.

Stay up-to-date with their offers, like their new Build Your Own Pot option, or just generally drool over the plant porn Kaleigh posts regularly on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.